


Journal of an Apprentice

by Sarahshenanigans



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Budding Love, Death, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Healing Sex, Memory Loss, Polyamory, Red Plague (The Arcana), Romantic Friendship, Spoilers, Terminal Illnesses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:26:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24685321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarahshenanigans/pseuds/Sarahshenanigans
Summary: SPOILER WARNING!You can also find this work on The Arcana: Visual Novel Amino. Just search for Fen :)A collection of journal entries written by Fen (my lovely apprentice) beginning before she becomes ill with the Red Plague and extending into her adventures trying to correct Lucio's Big Oopsie. They will be chronological, but not necessarily consecutive.
Relationships: Apprentice/Asra (The Arcana), Apprentice/Muriel (The Arcana)
Kudos: 7





	1. Day One

**Author's Note:**

> THIS IS YOUR LAST SPOILER WARNING. I mean it.

I arrived at the clinic about mid-morning. Asra was gone before the sun rose. We argued last night. He's so stubborn sometimes. He disapproves of my choices, but he won't tell me why. I know he's spoken to the Magician, but he refuses to communicate with me. He's my best friend, and I love him, but sometimes I feel like he doesn't trust me. Muriel is upset with me, too. I walked to his hut before heading to the clinic, to gather some herbs, and he wouldn't even look at me. It took me so long to get him to warm up to me, and now it's like the last six years never happened. I'm trying so hard to get them to understand why I need to do this, but neither of them are from Vesuvia. This is the only home I've ever known. It wasn't always this bad. I can't abandon the city now.

When Doctor Jules arrived, it was like a collective sigh of relief from the city. Volunteers poured into his clinic; people were hopeful for the first time in years. Unfortunately, in spite of his skill, he was soon overwhelmed by the sick, and his volunteers began dropping like flies. Then came the announcement that Queastor Valdemar was heading a massive research project to search for the cure, and requested that every doctor in the city relocate to the palace to help.

At this point, there are only a handful of volunteers left at Doctor Jules's clinic. The rest either fled the city, are too sick to work, or have already been taken by the plague. Doctor Jules was a little uneasy about taking me on - magic seems to make him nervous for some reason - but I assured him that, while I'm not as gifted at healing magic as Asra, a magician's skill could go a long way. 

I hope that Asra is okay. He received a letter on the Count's official stationery a few days ago, but he wouldn't tell me anything about it. He just begged me to close the shop and stay in his cottage in Nopal. I wonder if that's where he is now. I don't imagine he'll stay long, if that's the case. I know he's worried about me, and he'd never just abandon Muriel like that. 

Everything is going to be okay.


	2. Day 12

Doctor Jules asked me to look after his dog, Brundle. He had been able to spend about an hour each day here, but rumor has it that Count Lucio has contracted the plague, though the palace refuses to confirm it, and the good Doctor doesn't know when he'll be able to make the trip down to the South End again. The other volunteers largely ignore Brundle, or even see him as a nuisance. I'm sure that's why Doctor Jules chose me to look after him, but regardless, I'm grateful. Brundle is such a good boy, and I won't deny that I feel a certain level of kinship with him. He reminds me of someone, but for the life of me I can't think of whom. It's like when you have a particularly pleasant dream, but you can't quite recall the details when you wake up, and the longer you focus on it, the hazier it becomes. He was attached to me almost immediately after I arrived, sleeping at my feet and following me around the clinic as I see to patients. 

I'm almost tempted to take him back to the shop with me when my work here is done, but I could never do that to Doctor Jules. His nerves are shot, and just about the only time I've seen him truly at ease is when Brundle settles to lay on his feet. Once this nightmare is over, I'm sure he'll need his dog more than ever. He's a good man, and he works so hard, especially for a city he's fairly new to, and he deserves some peace. He seems more worn each time he visits, and it's difficult to watch. Last time he stopped by, I tried to make him some tea. Lapsang suchong. But...

I haven't heard from Asra since I left. He travels all the time, so his absence is really nothing new, but he always sends word about where he is or... something. And when he's gone, I've always had Muriel there. I haven't been alone in...well, a very long time. And I guess I'm not really alone right now, but it certainly feels that way. No familiar faces, just an endless sea of blank, red eyes pleading for salvation or release. I guess I see why so many of the others got burnt out and left. The ones who weren't sick, anyway. I'd by lying if I said I hadn't thought about leaving, too, but I have a duty here. I made a commitment. 

That's not to say that I haven't made any friends. There are two volunteers here, Remy and Silas, who have been married for something like thirty years, and they treat me like their daughter. Watching them together almost distracts me from the pain of so much death. Remy dotes like a mother hen, always making sure that I have enough to eat, or that I'm rested. And no matter how many times I tell him that I'm fine, he's always finding little ways to weasel some minor need from me. The other day he brought me a new pair of scissors, since mine were rusted and almost unusable. I have no idea where he got them, but I'm not complaining. And Silas... well they're just about the only volunteer with any sense of humor here. When they tell stories in the evenings, everyone stops to listen, and by the end of it, we're usually a giggling mess. They're so sweet together. That's what I want to have thirty years from now.

I hope Asra and Muriel are okay. I know that Asra tends to get lost in his own little world when he's away for too long. And Muriel gets so lonely out there in the woods, although he'd never admit to it. And I need them. I need them to hold me and tell me that I'm doing okay. That this was the right choice, and I'm making a difference for Vesuvia, in my small way. That the city will recover. I need Asra's mischievous laugh, and the glint in his eyes when he cheats at cards, and the calming tenderness of his fingers combing through my hair. I need Muriel's steady strength, and the security of being wrapped in his arms, and the way he looks after the homeless chickens like they were family, and the little pink flush he still gets whenever Asra or I say something sweet. 

I have to stop thinking about them, or I'm going to bolt out the door and never come back.


	3. Day 25

Last week, Silas woke up with pink-tinted eyes. They assured us that it was just minor irritation, nothing to be concerned about. Three days ago, they were taken to the Lazaret by the city guard. We were ordered to report any confirmed cases immediately, and told that we would not longer be permitted to treat plague victims in our clinic. They will be taken to the island for quarantine. We see pillars of black smoke wafting over the bay every day, ash choking the air. I try not to think about it too much. 

Remy hasn't stopped working since Silas was taken. Hasn't paused to do more than drink miniscule amounts of water. I had to threaten him to get him to sleep, which he only did for about two hours, and then went right back to it. We've lost four other volunteers in the meantime. Remy and I are the only ones, now. Doctor Jules hasn't even sent word in ten days. I'm starting to wonder if he's even still alive.

Yesterday, my favorite Baker from the market in the Heart District brought in his daughter. I could feel his fear in the air as I examined her. She had been an orphan from somewhere up north, adopted by the Baker and his partner when she was a toddler. I've watched her grow up. Which made it so much harder to see the tell-tale crimson creeping into her scleras, confirming my fears. I gave them some privacy, mostly because I couldn't bear watching them hold each other and sob. To think, this little girl might never have gotten ill at all if not for having been adopted. But if she hadn't been, she would be an urchin, wandering the streets and begging for scraps. I had to excuse myself to the washroom to curse whatever higher power created this plague. But I'm not sure that whoever - or whatever - that is had anything to do with it.

I finally received a letter from Asra, asking me to meet him in the forest tomorrow night. I can't abandon Remy, though. Not now. I can't leave the clinic when so many people are relying on us. I sent a message back to tell him as much. I hope it arrives in time. 

Remy keeps saying it's futile to stay. That we're not doing any good if we can't treat people. That the plague will take us all, in the end. I'm starting to think he's right.


	4. Day 38

Remy is gone. I don't know if he got sick or just couldn't take it anymore. He didn't leave a note, he was just... Gone when I got up one morning. Brundle and I are alone, now. There's still been no word from Doctor Jules. Asra hasn't tried to contact me again. I'm choosing to believe that he's abroad, too focused on whatever it is that he does when he's traveling alone to pause long enough to write. 

I haven't heard from Muriel, either, which isn't altogether surprising. He's not really the type to reach out, and he's not one for writing. His penmanship is atrocious and completely illegible unless you know him well. And his spelling is questionable at best. I know it frustrates him that he isn't as smart on paper as he actually is. So I don't expect to hear from him. I'm terrified that he thinks I abandoned him. That I no longer care for him. If I could just go to him and explain...

But I'll never get that chance. I'll never get to apologize to Asra for leaving the way I did. I'll never get to reassure Muriel that I didn't leave because of him. I'll never get to help him feed his chickens and again or sneak Asra's famous cold remedy into his tea when he's feeling under the weather. Asra will have to run the shop on his own, now.

You see, I woke up yesterday with reddish scleras. Today, the fever began. One of my patients is abandoning ship - headed down south to stay with family - and she agreed to take Brundle. I'm getting as much medicine made as my supplies will allow and handing it out as fast as I can. I'll get as much sorted out as possible before...{this portion is illegible, blotted by tear stains} ...take me away.

I hope someone finds this journal and returns it to my shop. Without it, they'll never know what happened to me.


End file.
